User interface for analyzing opportunities for clinical process improvement

• US 8,060,381 B2
• Filed: 03/30/2006
• Issued: 11/15/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/07/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cerner Innovation, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Cerner Innovation, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Dyer, Barry C., Solito, Melissa J., Hallberg, Shriti, Berg, Karen S.
• Primary Examiner(s): RINES, ROBERT D
• Application Number:
  US11/278,089
• Publication Number:
  US 20070083388A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,056 Days
• Field of Search: 705/2, 705/3, 705/4
• US Class Current: 705/3
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 Insurance
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/20 for electronic clinical trials or questionnaires

Abstract

User interfaces are provided for analyzing opportunities for optimizing clinical processes within clinical facilities. An optimized practice process model may be defined for a particular clinical procedure, setting forth an optimal clinical process. In addition, critical levers may be identified within the optimal clinical process, representing the activities that have the greatest impact on outcomes. Clinical facilities may collect current measures for the critical levers, and the current measures may be compared against an optimal, benchmark, and/or target measure. Based on the comparison, opportunities for clinical process optimization may be identified. User interfaces are provided for analyzing the opportunities.

Claims

1. A computer-storage medium storing computer-useable instructions that, when used by a computing device, cause the computing device to generate one or more user interfaces for presentation to facilitate the analysis of a current clinical process within one or more clinical facilities, the current clinical process being of a particular type of clinical process, the one or more user interfaces comprising:

an opportunity summary display screen configured to display a plurality of areas of opportunity analysis for analyzing potential opportunities for clinical process improvement defined by an optimized practice process model, wherein the optimized practice process model comprises an optimal process flow that has been predefined for the particular type of clinical process and details end-to-end activities for the particular type of clinical process including interrelationships among the activities, each of the areas of opportunity analysis corresponding with one or more critical levers, each critical lever corresponding with an activity within the optimal process flow that has been predetermined to have greater potential to impact outcomes for the particular type of clinical process as compared to other activities in the optimal process flow that have not been predetermined as critical levers;

the opportunity summary display including;

an indication display field, wherein an indication is provided for each of the areas of opportunity analysis indicating whether each of the areas of opportunity analysis corresponds with an area within the current clinical process that provides an opportunity for improving the current clinical process within the one or more clinical facilities as determined by comparing clinically-related data from the current clinical process to data from the optimized practice process model for each of the areas of opportunity analysis, wherein a first indication is provided for a first area of opportunity analysis indicating that the first area of opportunity analysis has been determined to be an area of opportunity for improving the current clinical process, a second indication is provided for a second area of opportunity analysis indicating that the second area of opportunity analysis has been determined to be an area of possible opportunity for improving the current clinical process, a third indication is provided for a third area of opportunity analysis indicating that the third area of opportunity analysis has been determined to be an area that does not present an opportunity for improving the current clinical process, and a fourth indication is provided for a fourth area of opportunity analysis indicating that the fourth area of opportunity analysis has been determined to be an area for which information is not available, and wherein the optimal process flow, the areas of opportunity analysis, and critical levers, have been predefined based at least in part on analysis of one or more selected from the following;

medical literature, published medical guidelines, and operational evidence collected from a plurality of clinical facilities;

a benefit index display field displaying a benefit index for at least one area of opportunity analysis, the benefit index being determined based on the clinically-related data and benefit metrics defined by the optimized practice process model, the benefit metrics facilitating quantification of financial and non-financial benefits that may be realized by adopting changes corresponding with each area of opportunity analysis;

an effort index display field displaying an effort index for at least one area of opportunity analysis, the effort index being determined based on the clinically-related data and effort metrics defined by the optimized practice process model, the effort metrics facilitating quantification of financial and non-financial efforts required to adopt changes corresponding with each area of opportunity analysis.

2. The computer-storage medium of claim 1, wherein the one or more user interfaces further comprise:

a financial benefits summary display field configured to display a financial benefit for adopting changes to the current clinical process corresponding with at least one of the areas of opportunity analysis.

3. The computer-storage medium of claim 1, wherein the one or more user interfaces further comprise:

a metrics display screen configured to display at least one of a current measure, an optimal measure, a benchmark measure, and target measure for one or more critical levers associated with at least one of the areas of opportunity analysis.

4. The computer-storage medium of claim 3, wherein the metrics display screen is configured to further display a measurement description for at least one of the one or more critical levers.

5. The computer-storage medium of claim 3, wherein the metrics display screen is configured to further display an indication for at least one of the one or more critical levers, the indication indicating whether the at least one of the one or more critical levers corresponds with an area within the current clinical process that provides an opportunity for improving the current clinical process.

6. The computer-storage medium of claim 1, wherein the one or more user interfaces further comprise:

a value display screen configured to display at least one value indication for one or more critical levers associated with at least one of the areas of opportunity analysis, the at least one value indication indicating whether a corresponding critical lever corresponds with an area within the current clinical process that provides a clinical opportunity, whether the corresponding critical lever corresponds with an area within the current clinical process that provides a financial opportunity, whether the corresponding critical lever corresponds with an area within the current clinical process that provides an operational opportunity, and whether the corresponding critical lever corresponds with an area within the current clinical process that provides a regulatory opportunity.

7. The computer-storage medium of claim 1, wherein the one or more user interfaces further comprise:

an optimal clinical process flow display screen configured to display the optimal clinical process defined by the optimized practice process model.

8. A computer-storage medium storing computer-useable instructions that, when used by a computing device, cause the computing device to generate one or more user interfaces for presentation to facilitate the analysis of one or more opportunities for improving a current clinical process within one or more clinical facilities, the current clinical process being of a particular type of clinical process, the one or more user interfaces comprising:

an opportunity summary display screen configured to display a plurality of areas of analysis for clinical process improvement based on an optimized practice process model, wherein the optimized practice process model comprises an optimal process flow that has been predefined for the particular type of clinical process each of the one areas of analysis for clinical process improvement corresponding with one or more critical levers, each critical lever corresponding with an activity within the optimal process flow that has been predetermined to have a greater potential to impact outcomes for the particular type of clinical process as compared to other activities in the optimal process flow that have not been predetermined as critical levers;

the opportunity summary display including;

an indication display field displaying an indication for each of the areas of analysis indicating whether each of the areas of analysis corresponds with an area of opportunity for improving the current clinical process as determined by comparing clinically-related data from the current clinical process to data from the optimized practice process model for each of the areas of analysis, wherein a first indication is provided for a first area of analysis indicating that the first area of analysis has been determined to be an area of opportunity for improving the current clinical process, a second indication is provided for a second area of analysis indicating that the second area of analysis has been determined to be an area of possible opportunity for improving the current clinical process, a third indication is provided for a third area of analysis indicating that the third area of analysis has been determined to be an area that does not present an opportunity for improving the current clinical process, and a fourth indication is provided for a fourth area of analysis indicating that the fourth area of analysis has been determined to be an area for which information is not available, and wherein the optimal process flow, the areas of analysis, and critical levers have been predefined based at least in part on analysis of one or more selected from the following;

medical literature, published medical guidelines, and operational evidence collected from a plurality of clinical facilities;

a benefit index display field displaying a benefit index for at least one area of analysis, the benefit index being determined based on the clinically-related data and benefit metrics defined by the optimized practice process model, the benefit metrics facilitating quantification of financial and non-financial benefits that may be realized by adopting changes corresponding with each area of analysis; and

an effort index display field displaying an effort index for at least one area of analysis, the effort index being determined based on the clinically-related data and effort metrics defined by the optimized practice process model, the effort metrics facilitating quantification of financial and non-financial efforts required to adopt changes corresponding with each area of analysis.

9. The computer-storage medium of claim 8, wherein the one or more user interfaces further comprise:

a financial benefits summary display field configured to display a financial benefit for at least one of the areas of analysis.

10. The computer-storage medium of claim 8, wherein the one or more user interfaces further comprise:

a metrics display screen configured to display at least one of a current measure, an optimal measure, a benchmark measure, and target measure for one or more critical levers associated with at least one of the areas of analysis.

11. The computer-storage medium of claim 10, wherein the metrics display area is configured to further display a measurement description for at least one of the one or more critical levers.

12. The computer-storage medium of claim 10, wherein the metrics display screen is configured to further display an indication for at least one of the one or more critical levers, the indication indicating whether the at least one of the one or more critical levers corresponds with an opportunity for improving the current clinical process.

13. The computer-storage medium of claim 8, wherein the one or more user interfaces further comprise:

a value display screen configured to display a value indication for one or more critical levers associated with at least one of the areas of analysis, each value indication indicating that a corresponding critical lever corresponds with at least one of a clinical opportunity, a financial opportunity, an operational opportunity, and a regulatory opportunity.

14. The computer-storage medium of claim 8, wherein the one or more user interfaces further comprise:

an optimal clinical process flow display screen configured to display the optimal clinical process defined by the optimized practice process model.

15. A computer-storage medium storing computer-useable instructions that, when used by a computing device, cause the computing to perform a method for facilitating the analysis of one or more opportunities for improving a current clinical process within one or more clinical facilities, the method comprising:

generating an opportunity summary screen displaying a plurality of areas of opportunity analysis including one or more opportunities identified for improving the current clinical process, the one or more opportunities being based on an optimized practice process model defining an optimal clinical process for a type of clinical process corresponding with the current clinical process, the optimal clinical process having been predefined for the particular type of clinical process, each of the areas of opportunity analysis corresponding with one or more critical levers, each critical lever corresponding with an activity within the optimal clinical process that has been predetermined to have a greater potential to impact outcomes for the particular type of clinical process as compared to other activities in the optimal process flow that have not been predetermined as critical levers;

generating and displaying in the opportunity summary display screen, an indication display field, wherein an indication is provided for each of the areas of opportunity analysis indicating whether each of the areas of opportunity analysis corresponds with an area within the current clinical process that provides an opportunity for improving the current clinical process within the one or more clinical facilities as determined based on comparison of current measures from the current clinical process against measures for critical levers from the optimized practice process model, wherein a first indication is provided for a first area of opportunity analysis indicating that the first area of opportunity analysis has been determined to be an area of opportunity for improving the current clinical process, a second indication is provided for a second area of opportunity analysis indicating that the second area of opportunity analysis has been determined to be an area of possible opportunity for improving the current clinical process, a third indication is provided for a third area of opportunity analysis indicating that the third area of opportunity analysis has been determined to be an area that does not present an opportunity for improving the current clinical process, and a fourth indication is provided for a fourth area of opportunity analysis indicating that the fourth area of opportunity analysis has been determined to be an area for which information is not available, and wherein the optimal process flow, critical levers, and measures for critical levers have been predefined based at least in part on analysis of one or more selected from the following;

medical literature, published medical guidelines, and operational evidence collected from a plurality of clinical facilities;

generating and displaying a benefit index display field in the opportunity summary display screen a benefit index for at least one area of opportunity analysis, the benefit index being determined based on the clinically related data and benefit metrics defined by the optimized practice process model, the benefit metrics facilitating quantification of financial and non-financial benefits that may be realized by adopting changes corresponding with each opportunity; and

generating and displaying in an effort index display field in the opportunity summary display screen, an effort index for at least one area of opportunity analysis, the effort index being determined based on the clinically-related data and effort metrics defined by the optimized practice process model, the effort metrics facilitating quantification of financial and non-financial efforts required to adopt changes corresponding with each opportunity.

16. The computer-storage medium of claim 15, wherein the optimized practice process model further includes at least one of an optimal measure, a benchmark measure, and a target measure for at least one of the one or more critical levers.